Her Crimson Kiss
by My Silver Dreamer
Summary: A bloody kiss and a vanishing woman. Is Draco going crazy? And who is the elusive Head Girl?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters.

Due to a misunderstanding, I am reposting this under a new title and profile. It used to be "Blood and Passion" under the profile "Valere Rose". Sorry for the confusion.

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The rain was pouring, draining the blood from the alley. The alley where she killed her last victim. She looked up as a sound caught her attention. An open window lead her to a small room of the Leaky Cauldron. She silently leapt to perch on the window sill. A platinum blonde haired young man was feverishly tossing in his sleep.

_How do I know him?_ His face was so familiar. The soft lips and high cheek bones. She had a faint memory of those beautiful eyes. Ones that could pierce into your very soul. But he was from her past. A past that she no longer knew.

She walked over to his sleeping form, making not a sound. His head turned frantically from a nightmare. She laid a gentle hand on his chest and kissed him on the forehead. _Why?_ And then she vanished like the mist.

_A girl was in his room. No. A woman! She touched him and kissed his forehead. And vanished…_

Draco shot up in bed, sweat soaking his sheets. _It was all a dream!_ But he walked over to the full length mirror. A blood stained kiss mark was on his forehead. He touched it and fainted.

When he woke again, some hours later, he was determined not to think about it. This was, after all, Diagon Alley, and many creatures lived here. Whoever it was that came to him obviously meant him no harm.

He quickly got dressed and threw his few possessions into his trunk. The taxi to the station would be here any time now, so he had to be ready. Draco knew all to well how bad it would be to miss that train.

Once at the station, and through platform 9 ¾, he could see all the students saying good-bye to their families. He knew no one was coming for him. They never did. As he scanned the crowd for familiar faces, he saw someone in the corner of the room. They had a hood drawn over their face, which hid the rest of their body as well. Draco could barely make out the shape of a woman, but he couldn't be sure.

As a father passed in front of his line of site, she seemed to vanish into the crowd. _Vanish…_

Draco made his way to the head of the cart. He had made Head Boy this year, and Professor McGonagall had written to meet her there when the train departed. He paused before opening the door, who would he find as the Head Girl? Probably that no good Mudblood Granger.

But there was no one in there. He made himself comfortable next to the window and was about to doze off until McGonagall made her entrance. "Good afternoon, Mister Malfoy. Now…I need you to know that the Head Girl will be joining you soon enough. Just not yet. Since you have no real need to go directly to the feast, Professor Dumbledore has requested a brief meeting with you in his office as soon as we arrive. Understand?"

Draco nodded and watched as she turned on her heal and left. He was happy to see her go. He hadn't got much sleep last night. The nightmares were becoming worse and they were even tormenting him during the day. He shut his eyes for a split second…and found that when he opened them, they were already at the school.


	2. Chapter 2

How could these muggles stand to travel like this was beyond her. The constant jolting and annoying roar of the wheels was enough to wake the dead.

She smiled at her crude joke. _If only they all knew._

As the students started to scramble to the coaches, the woman drifted into the shadows. When she was sure no one was able to see her, she floated silently across the lake. The doors were open and she knew where to reach the headmaster.

Ever since she was changed, she knew nothing of her past. Yet she knew exactly where to go. But how? It was same with the boy from the tavern.

She knocked on the wooden door and was instantly greeted by an old man. His power seemed to be a cloak around him. She could sense the goodness in him, and it almost made her sick. While she had nothing against the judgment of others, she thought that no one should be that good. For the sake of everyone.

"Hello, my dear. I'm so glad you made it here safely. How was your trip?" Dumbledore motioned for her to take a seat. She seemed to melt into the chair as she slipped off her hood.

"It was terrible. But never mind that. How do you know me? And how do I know this place? Ever since my change I can't remember a thing."

"All in good time, my dear. All in good time."

Draco was no reason to hurry back to the feast, so once the coaches arrived at the school, he took his time reaching Dumbledore's office. He knocked on the door and when it opened he could almost feel a wave of foreboding. It hit him dead on in the chest to the point where he had to pause for breathe.

"Good evening, Mister Malfoy. Won't you come in?" The old wizard opened the door further and Draco caught a glimpse of flowing, brown hair before it was hidden once more under the velvet hood.

"Professor, what is the meaning of this meeting. I know that I don't really have to be at the feast, but surely you must be there." He declined the offer to take a seat. While he was puzzled by the visitor he had no inclination to sit next to a hooded figure. Years as his father's son had taught him that much.

"I have asked you to come here to discuss a very serious matter. As you are already aware of, the Head Girl this year has not been revealed yet. And while she is already with us, certain…obstacles…stand in the way of informing the school." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard. Draco could tell he was giving him time to process this.

"Sir, I'm almost graduated. I'm 17 years old. Could you please just tell me what it is that is so important that you can't tell the rest of the school?" Draco was about to blow a fuse with all this beating around the bush.

"My dear." Dumbledore motioned to the hooded figure and she slowly lowered her hood.

_BLOODY HELL… _


	3. Chapter 3

His heart seemed to stop beating, and he couldn't remember the last time he breathed. Before Draco sat the most beautiful, terrifying, life altering girl. _No! Woman! _

Her once chestnut hair was now dark brown, almost black. And, while they were in a well lit room, her eyes held the faint, hollow gleam, like that of a cat. The soft, velvet cloak brought further notice to her extremely pale skin. And while he knew she was indeed alive, her face showed no emotion, and she moved with such fluidity that she did not make a sound.

"I believe you two are well acquainted." Dumbledore held a faint smile, more to himself, and retreated to his inner office.

Draco just sat there. This was impossible. Yet he was more certain of the reality of this moment than any other in the past summer. He knew exactly who…and what…she was. And while he knew he should fear her, his heart held only questions.

"Hermione?"

"Who is this…Her-mi-ony?" She sat perfectly still, never taking her eyes from him. Draco didn't know what to think. She looked like the old Hermione…in a way. And she sounded like the old Hermione. But she obviously wasn't. And what made things worse was she didn't seem to know her own name!

"That's you. Don't you remember your own name?"

"Well. As it is rather obvious that I am what I am, I need not explain that a rather large change has occurred. Accompanying such a change was the misplacement of my memory. Though while walking around this school, I was able to find the headmasters office. And I seem to remember you…vaguely. But other than that, I don't recall anything." She spoke all of this as if she was speaking of the weather. She didn't seem one bit disturbed at the loss of her memory, and that frightened Draco. _What the bloody hell happened?_

"What the bloody hell happened?"

"I was turned. I am now a vampire, contrary to my former state. I awoke in a dark alley in London. It was nearly daylight and I had an instinct to hide. I don't know how…but I knew the "rules", as you would say, of being a vampire. I slept during the day and fed at night. So, I survived without the help of my successor. He, or she, had left me for dead and it was better to leave them thinking that.

"After a month of wandering London I saw another of my kind stepping into a tavern I had never really noticed before. The Leaky Cauldron led me to Diagon Alley, as you know, and from then on I was a part of the wizarding world.

"Dumbledore found me in a small tavern in Knockturn Alley one night in July. He told me that I was a student at this school and I would be returning in September. He really left me no choice. So, I am here, and know nothing of who I am, what I am doing here, or who you are!"

Draco was utterly dumbstruck. He had expected something out of the ordinary, but this hit him like a chisel to the heart.

Over the last 6 years Draco and the Golden Trio had been enemies. But Hermione's situation…he would not have wished upon his WORST enemy. And certainly not Hermione. _But why not her? What makes her so special?_

He stood and started pacing the room. Not only did this whole thing affect Hermione, but now that he knew, it seemed to be a weight that was placed on his shoulders. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that Hogwarts now had a resident vampire on the loose.

Dumbledore came in half an hour later, seeming to have been listening to the whole conversation, though he wouldn't call it eavesdropping. "Mister Malfoy, I see you have had time to absorb the information, and I believe you are ready to help Miss Granger see this school as her new, and old, home. If you wouldn't mind, the Head's Dormitories are set up for you both. You know where to find it, and the password is 'Duality'." He stood up and gestured them towards the door, "Now, if you don't mind, I have a feast to attend."

Once left on the landing together, and after a few awkward seconds of silence, Draco led the way to the seventh floor. Passing the many bookcases and the portrait of the fat lady, they faced another portrait. This one was of a woman weeping over a wounded lion. "Duality."

The common room was larger than Draco thought possible. It had a sofa and many chairs, all sitting around a cozy fire. Off in the corner was a useful kitchen area with everything one may need. On either side of the room was a door. The left door was a deep green color with a serpent emblem carved into it. The right had only a single rose, carved into the mahogany wood.

Finally, after a walk of silence, Hermione turned to Draco. He could feel her gaze boring into him, but he chose to look into the fire. "Will you tell me now who I am? Or must I go ask some other student?" She made a motion as if to leave.

"No…" Draco, afraid of what the other students may say, or worse, do, grabbed for her arm. In a movement too quick for him to see, she had his arm pinned behind his back. He winced in pain, but from his many encounters with his father, knew not to make a noise. _Showing weakness makes them hurt you worse. _

But she wasn't meaning to hurt him. It had been a reflex, and as soon as she knew what she was doing, she let go. "I'm sorry, Draco. I don't like to be touched."

"I can see that." He rubbed his arm where he could swear he still felt her touch, burning. "You want to know who you are? Or who people THINK you are? It is your choice. Now that you don't have your memories you are free to make your life whatever you want. Including people's image of you." He envied her. At that moment he almost thought he would love to be her. But one look at that pale face changed his mind.

"Tell me…everything."


End file.
